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To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 9, 2011
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SUBJECT: Grant Application to Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality — Expansion of the Inlet Pilot Project
The purpose of this Informal Report is to notify City Council that City staff has submitted a grant
application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as part of their Clean
Water Act 319(h) Nonpoint Source Grant Program. Staff became aware of this grant opportunity
less than two weeks before the deadline and was therefore unable to process the application
request through City Council in advance of the application as is normal process. Should the City
of Fort Worth be selected for this grant, staff will provide an M&C to Council requesting
authorization to accept the grant.
This application, if approved, would provide financial support to test the effectiveness of trash and
sediment collection devices at approximately 70 drainage inlets in downtown Fort Worth (see
attached map). The application would cover installation of collection devices and three years of
operations beginning September 2012. The City would be reimbursed 60% of the total project
cost, which is currently estimated at $530,000. The balance of the project cost (approximately
$212,000) would be paid through Storm Water Utility revenues as a part of the 2012 operational
budget.
In 2003 the City Council approved the Trinity River Vision Plan (TRVP). An area of common
interest in support of the TRVP is the control of trash and damaging sediment transported through
storm water.
The cities of Fort Worth and Arlington along with the Tarrant Regional Water District have been
partnering to evaluate a combination of structural and non-structural best management practices
(BMP's) to mitigate the adverse effects of trash and sediment buildup. In 2009, the City launched
a pilot study to select, test and monitor the operational effectiveness of structural BMPs (drainage
inlet screens and trash collectors) as control mechanisms. In 2010, the City deployed collection
devices in 40 inlets in downtown Fort Worth to be evaluated over a two year period in a pilot
study fully funded by the Storm Water Utility. Based on these preliminary results, it was
anticipated that this test area would be expanded to approximately 70 inlets, and this grant is an
opportunity to leverage federal funds to facilitate expansion.
TCEQ will notify applicants of potential project selection on October 24, 2011. Projects would
then be refined and reviewed leading to an award of contract in June 2012.
Tom Higgins
Interim City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS